The 19th Floor

Weekend Visitors

Aug 272012

My site statistics have revealed that the blog attracts the most hits on Saturdays. I’m guessing that many of you catch up on the previous week’s entries over a bowl of cereal. Or, considering this crowd’s sophisticated nature, a bowl of muesli. Whatever your preferred breakfast food, the increased weekend traffic is most welcome. When I cut my blogging down to weekdays only, I anticipated a steep dropoff in hits on the weekends. But I’m happy to assist you in frittering your weekends away. Perhaps I should start posting some sort of weekly video wrap-up. Then again, that might drive traffic away.

Critic At Large: Ready Player One

Books, Uncategorized No Responses »

Aug 242012

Do you like videogames? Do you like 80s pop culture references? Do you like books about videogames replete with 80s pop culture references? Then Ready Player One might be for you. It tells the story of Wade, a teen living in the American Midwest circa 2041. Things are not going well in Wade’s future America; the economy is in permanent recession, the climate is wrecked, and most people live in miserable poverty. Wade lives in a suburban ghetto built from old trailer homes and cars. His only escape is OASIS, a highly sophisticated online environment that has its origins in games like World of Warcraft. Wade spends nearly every waking moment in OASIS, attending school, playing games, and hanging out with the avatars of friends he has never met in person. And like millions of other OASIS denizens, he is trying to solve a series of puzzles left behind by OASIS’ deceased founder, a reclusive genius. The first person to successfully complete the puzzle sequence wins complete control of OASIS and unimaginable wealth. Nobody has managed to determine the significance of the first clue in the years since the founder’s death until Wade experiences a pivotal eureka moment.

Author Ernest Cline isn’t afraid to let his geek flag fly and writes an affectionate tribute to gaming and pop culture obsessives. This is probably the only novel you’ll read that references Family Ties, Ladyhawke, and Cyndi Lauper. Much of the book is set OASIS, which allows for all sorts of narrative pyrotechnics. Cline sometimes makes the mistake of pushing the reader to be as enamored with the mechanics of his invented world as Cline so plainly is, but it’s a forgivable sin. Cline’s workmanlike prose keeps the tale of disaffected youth and nefarious corporations breezing along to a saatisfying end.

Fluff

Miscellaneous No Responses »

Aug 232012

Other commitments are getting in the way of blogging this week, so my apologies for the lack of substance. Consider this the final summer lull before I start obsessing over the election season.

Complaints From Human Resources

Miscellaneous No Responses »

Aug 222012

It’s very simple. If I post a want ad asking for your resume, send me your resume. Don’t send me a 1-sentence e-mail asking for an interview. Tell me why I should interview you. Don’t they teach this stuff in school anymore? I’m pretty sure most employers still require resumes and look down upon requests to check out your Facebook page.

Modding For Accessibility

Disability, Tech No Responses »

Aug 212012

I don’t have much time to post tonight, but I thought this video from the hacking-themed Ben Heck Show is interesting. It shows Ben trying to create a hands-free control for a wheelchair used by an expectant father with a disability. It’s a little technical, but still enjoyable:

Trying To Understand

Politics No Responses »

Aug 202012

This observation from Amy Davidson on Representative Todd Akin’s bizarre remarks regarding rape and pregnancy are spot-on:

Beyond that, there is a notion, common in conservative rhetoric lately, that desperation is always elsewhere, and that the crises in ordinary lives do not need to be contemplated or worried about—not by nice people. They are rare; something has gone wrong; maybe the complaint isn’t legitimate; maybe it’s their own fault. That indifference goes beyond the question of rape and abortion

I’m sure there are a significant number of evangelicals and social conservatives who find Akin’s comments laughable, but their silence on the matter makes it that much easier for the media (and a good chunk of the left) to lump them together with the true cranks. Aren’t people of faith tired of a few eccentric and ignorant politicians anointing themselves as spokespersons for millions? One can be staunchly pro-life and still acknowledge that pregnancy can result from rape. From a Christian perspective, don’t we live in a fallen world? And if that’s true, why do some Christians put so much effort into glossing over those instances when our fallen nature inflicts misery on a fellow human being?

Paul Ryan, Destroyer Of Medicaid

Health Care, Politics, Wonkery No Responses »

Aug 172012

A Paul Ryan vice presidency could have dire consequences for the poor and people with disabilities. Ryan’s plans to transform Medicare into a voucher system have been well-documented, but his proposed Medicaid reductions would cut even deeper. Between eliminating the Medicaid expansion in the Affordable Care Act and transforming the remainder of Medicaid into a capped block grant, the Ryan budget would deny health care coverage to 30 million people.

Whether Congress would enact such harsh cuts is an open question. Medicaid beneficiaries don’t possess the same political clout as senior citizens, but some elected officials may still cringe at the prospect of reducing services to their most vulnerable constituents.

The need to reform Medicaid is clear and I expect that beneficiaries like me will have to accept some reductions (on top of the reductions in personal care reimbursement we’ve already witnessed). But we would prefer not to hand the reins of power over to two men who seem to regard entitlements as abstractions disconnected from the lives of real people.

Defenders Of The Earth

Games No Responses »

Aug 162012

I can barely keep up with the video games that I already own, but I’m eager to try out the remake of X-Com. The original 1994 version X-Com was a turn-based strategy game where you, the player, would command an elite squad of soldiers against invading aliens in missions around the world. I sucked magnificently at the game and my poor soldiers would typically die horrible deaths before killing a single extraterrestrial, but the concept was compelling. The updated version has a more cinematic look and a cleaner interface. I may still suck at it, but X-Com will likely be my timesink for this fall.

Doesn’t Hurt To Ask

Disability No Responses »

Aug 152012

One of my nurses is heavily involved in her local 4-H chapter and recently began working with a child who has some type of neuromuscular disability. She wants to discuss the child’s disability with her parents in order to figure out how to better accommodate the kid in group activities, but she worries about offending the parents. I told her that I doubt the parents will mind answering a few questions, particularly if she prefaces them with her own experience working with people with similar disabilities. Parents of kids with disabilities put up with a good deal of clueless and insensitive behavior from the general public, but I haven’t known any who didn’t appreciate questions motivated by a desire to include their children. I’m guessing most parents in these circumstances would hope to receive such questions on a more regular basis.

Any thoughts on my advice?

Primary Day

Politics 1 Response »

Aug 142012

Exactly one other person was atmy polling place when I voted at approximately 7:00 p.m. Turnout for this primary election will be typically low, but Minnesota has few statewide elections of interest this year. Amy Klobuchar will likely walk to re-election and Obama will have to commit an epic fail to lose the state. Some of the congressional races might be interesting, but I’m not counting on any major upsets. On a local level, I voted for the Ray Dehn for state representative. He’s a bit more progressive than the other DFL candidates and he was the only one to knock on my door.

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